We work within the Homeless Reduction Act which has been brought in by the Government from 3rd April 2018 and means we’ll always try to prevent you from becoming homeless in the first instance.

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This new Act gives us the opportunity to work with you to prevent or relieve your homelessness.
We can work with you from 56 days of you being threatened with homelessness.

We will always notify you of our decision in writing at the prevention, relief and main housing duty stage and advise you of your right to request a review of that decision if you do not agree with it.

If you are homeless
Depending on your circumstances we may be able to house you temporarily if you have nowhere to go.

Even if we cannot accommodate you temporarily, we will do everything we can to help you resolve your housing problems.

For more information on the legal process around The Homeless Reduction Act and homelessness applications you may wish to visit the Shelter website.

What to do if you are homeless outside normal working hours
If you have nowhere to stay during the evening, weekend or on a public holiday please contact the Social Services Emergency Team on 01452 614194.

If you are in priority need, temporary accommodation will be arranged for you. The duty worker will tell you to contact the Housing Options team on the morning of the next working day.

This is essential as the temporary accommodation will only be available until then.

Emergency help in cold weather
Gloucestershire’s local authorities have developed a county wide severe weather protocol (SWEP) in a humanitarian response to prevent deaths on the county’s streets due to extreme cold weather. This is implemented when there is a temperature forecast of 0 degrees or lower for three or more consecutive dates or a temperature of minus 3 degrees or lower for one night only and applies to everyone who is rough sleeping without the financial means or capacity to secure accommodation during the period of extreme weather.

Rough Sleeping
You can contact StreetLink on 0300 5000194. This is a national service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. StreetLink will help put you in touch with local services. You can also use this number if you have seen a rough sleeper and they will pass this information to the Outreach Team. Visit www.streetlink.org.uk